Your Hormones, Your Health

Hormones are chemical "messengers" that impact the way your organs and cells function

Krki MingJanuary 17, 20165:33 pm

A hormone imbalance could be to blame. Hormones are chemical “messengers” that impact the way your organs and cells function.

Irregular Periods

If yours doesn’t arrive around the same time every month, or you skip some months, it might mean that you have too little or too much of certain hormones (estrogen and progesterone). Irregular periods can be a symptom of health problems like polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

Sleep Problems

If you aren’t getting enough shut-eye, or if the sleep you get isn’t good, your hormones could be at play. Progesterone, a hormone released by your ovaries, helps you catch Zzz’s.

Chronic Acne

Acne that won’t clear up can be a symptom of hormone problems. An excess of androgens (“male” hormones that both women and men have) can cause your oil glands to overwork.

Memory Fog

Experts aren’t sure exactly how hormones impact your brain. What they do know is that changes in estrogen and progesterone can make your head feel “foggy” and make it harder for you to remember things. Some experts think estrogen might impact brain chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Belly Problems

When these hormones are higher or lower than usual, you might notice changes in how you’re digesting food. If you’re having digestive woes as well as issues like acne and fatigue, your hormone levels might be off.

Ongoing Fatigue

Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms of a hormone imbalance. And if your thyroid– the butterfly-shaped gland in your neck– makes too little thyroid hormone, it can sap your energy. A simple blood test called a thyroid panel can tell you if your levels are too low.

Mood Swings and Depression

Researchers think drops in hormones or fast changes in their levels can cause moodiness and the blues. Estrogen affects key brain chemicals like dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. Other hormones, that travel the same paths as neurotransmitters, also play a part in how you feel.

Appetite and Weight Gain

When you’re feeling irritated or blue, as you can be when your estrogen levels dip, you may want to eat more. That might be why drops in the hormone are linked to weight gain. The estrogen dip can also impact your body’s levels of leptin, a hunger-revving hormone.

Headaches

That’s why it’s common for headaches to strike right before or during your period, when estrogen is on the decline. Regular headaches or ones that often surface around the same time each month can be a clue that your levels of this hormone might be shifting.

Vaginal Dryness

The hormone helps vaginal tissue stay comfortable and moist. If your estrogen drops because of an imbalance, it can cause and reduce vaginal fluids tightness.

Loss of Libido

Most people think of testosterone as a male hormone, but women’s bodies make it, too. You might have less of an interest in sex than you usually do if your testosterone levels are lower than usual.

Breast Changes

A drop in estrogen can make your breast tissue less dense. And an increase in the hormone can thicken this tissue, even causing new lumps or cysts. Talk to your doctor if you notice breast changes, even if you don’t have any other symptoms that concern you.
If yours doesn’t arrive around the same time every month, or you skip some months, it might mean that you have too little or too much of certain hormones (estrogen and progesterone). If you’re having digestive woes as well as issues like acne and fatigue, your hormone levels might be off.

Regular headaches or ones that often surface around the same time each month can be a clue that your levels of this hormone might be shifting.
Researchers think drops in hormones or fast changes in their levels can cause moodiness and the blues. The estrogen dip can also impact your body’s levels of leptin, a hunger-revving hormone.